Table of Contents

The habitat and morphology of four species of Florideophyceae collected in the Island of Cres (Kvamer Gulf, Northem Adriatic Sea) are described. Gelidiella anlipae Celan, Polysiphonia banyulensis Coppejans and Womersleyella selacea (Hollenberg) l:. E. Norris are new reports for the Adriatic Sea; Chondria pygmaea is recorded for the first time in the Northem Adriatic Sea. Biogeographical considerations are discussed for each species.

Scirpus pseudoselaceus Daveau, a West - Mediterranean species distributed in North Africa and the lberian peninsula, is reported from Maremma (Tuscany) as new to the ltalian flora. A comparison is al so made in detail between S. pseudoselaceus and the most similar Scirpus cernuus Vahl, in order to point out their distinctiveness.

Morphological evidence obtained from type material, additional herbarium specimens and cultivated plants, shows that Crambe alutacea differs from C. orientalis L in a series of characters, inc1uding the type of leaf indumentum and fruit size and should be mantained as a separate species.

The lectoype of Festuca violacea Gaudin var. macrathera Hack. is designated. The plants from the centrai and southem Apennines, identified in the past as F. violacea var. macrathera, are ascribed to a new subspecies, F. violacea subsp. italica, described here for the first time.

Two new visits to Alboran have added a new species, Salsola kali L., to its flora. An attempt to reintroduce a few plants of the apparently extinet in the wild endemic Diplotaxis siettiana Maire was performed, and a small seed samp1e of the other endemie Senecio alboranicus Maire was eollected. Triplachne nitens (Guss.) Link and Frankenia pulverulenta L. eould not be found.

Twelve Moroccan taxa of Thymus (Labialae) revealed a variable basic chromosome number (n = 12, 14, 15,23,24,28) and suggested the subdivision into two groups of the sect. Micantes; three groups of the sect. Hyphodromi and the heterogeneity of the sect. Thymus.

Current knowledge of the flora and vegetation of the Mortorio Archipelago, in N. E. Sardinia, is reported. The Archipelago has a total area of more than 111 hectares and a botanical diversity of 358 species distributed over 67 families and comprising 216 genera. Although no plants are exclusive to this group of islands, there are no fewer than 19 endemie species of which three are typically Sardinian and seven bclong to Sardinia and Corsica. The failu~e to find previously reported species is noted and inforrnation is given on the biological and chorological spectra of the species common to the various islands, as well as on the main forrns of vegetation characterizing the landscape.

Campanula calycialata is described as a new species in series Saxicolae. It grows in vegetation of the order Androsacetalia vandellii in a single locality on the high mountain top of Babin Zub on Mt Stara Planina. It is distinct from other species of the series and genus by the presence of coronoid appendages at the base of the characteristic calyx teeth.

Mycofloristic investigations, carried out in the deciduous oak-woods in the western part of the province of Siena (Ita1y), led to the identification of 389 fungi, 74 of which new for the province. The taxa are listed following the fungal classification of Hawksworth & al. (1995).

The flora of the catchment basin of Rio Santa Lucia (S. W. Sardinia) has been studied, 669 taxa, 628 of which were species, 35 subspecies, 2 varieties and 4 hybrids were found. They were included in 364 genera and 101 families. The floristic richness indices have been determined and compared with those of other studied areas of Sulcis. An analysis of the biological spectrum showed the therophytes at 41.2 % in confirmation of the full Mediterranean character of the area and the phanerophytes at 10%, showing the high degree of wooded cover. A comparison with the biological spectra of other floras shows similar values, except for a lower value for the therophytes and a significantly higher value (2.7%) for the hydrophytes. The chorologic spectrum shows dominance of Mediterranean elements (71.6%), particularly steno-Mediterranean (26%) and euri-Mediterranean (21.8%). The westemMediterranean (3 .5%), the southem-Mediterranean (3.5%) and the Atlantic-Mediterranean (3.1 %) components are important in identifying the biogeographic barycentre of the studied area. The contingent of endemics (60 taxa) was 9% and shows the dominance of SardinianCorsican (31.7%) and Sardinian (21.7%) elements, that together make up 53.4% of the total. IO new entities, which are endemic or with a particular phytogeografic interst for the mountain complex of Sulcis, have been lastly reported.

In the delicate ecosystem of the islands off the Sardinian coast, it often occurs that some species of plants, which were found in the past, at subsequent visits are no longer found. The author has focused his attention on 18 islands belonging to the 3 main Sardinian archipelagos, where he has taken a census of 131 entities, at one time recorded but later not confirmed by various scientists studying these habitats. These plants, which belong to 42 families and are grouped in 104 genera, are the most representative systematic categories within the Sardinian islands, belong to a floristic tumover, and have a typically Mediterranean biological and chorological spectrum. They include lO endemisms and 9 species listed in the Red Book of Plants in Italy. Furthermore, it has been highlighted that the vulnerability of these environments is inversely proportional to their surface extension and the most threatened habitat is that of typically psammophilous species, followed by the casmophilous and humid habitats.

This is the eighth instalment of a series of reports of chromosome numbers from Mediterranean area, peri-Alpine communities and the Atlantic Islands, in French or English language. Il comprises contributions on 126 taxa: Scirpus from Italy, by L. Pignotti & G. Fiorini (Nos. 899-904); Ammi, Angelica, Berula , Bunium, Bupleurum, Chaerophyllum, Cri/llmum, Daucus, Echinophora, Ferula, Ferulago, Geocaryum, Gongylosciadium, Heptaptera, Johrenia, Katapsuxis, Lagoecia, Lecokia, Opopanax, Scaligeria, Thapsia and Torilis from Turkey, by M. G. Pimenov, T. V. Alexeeva & E. V. Kljuykov (Nas. 905-935); Aetheorhiza and Reichardia from Spain and Portugal, by J. A. Mejias (Nos. 936-940); Agrostis, Avenula, Bromus, Calamagrostis, Cynodon, Deschampsia, Dian/hus, Festuca, Holcus, Koeleria, Lychnis, Phleum, Scleramhus, Si/ene, Spiraea and Sporoho/us from Bulgaria, by A. Petrova & K. Stoyanova (Nos. 941 -960); A.\plenium, Dryopteris, Notho/aena, Phyllitis, Polypodium and Polystichum from Bulgaria, by D. Ivanova (Nos. 961-967); Alyssum from Turkey, by M. Antev, N. Orcan & V. Goranova (Nos. 968-969); Centaurea from Bulgaria, by S. T. Bancheva (Nos. 970-976); Antirrllinum, Biscutella, Caralluma, Echium, Erodium, Fumana, Lathyrus, Pseudoscabiosa, Scabiosa, Sideritis and Teucrium from Spain, by M. Boscaiu, J. Riera, E. Estrelles & J. Giiemes (Nos. 977-991); Crepis from Bulgaria, by D. Dimitrova (Nos. 992-993); Genista from Spain and Portugal, by T. Cusma Velari, L. Feoli Chiapella & C....